Success Stories
Student Lillian A. Parker, retired, learns to teach children to read
Story by Joan Aschim
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Lillian A. Parker, Graduate Associate of General Studies Lane Community College 2005 |
Lillian A. Parker will walk in the Lane Community College commencement on June 11. She will be among 450 students expected to participate in graduation from the more than 1,000 who have earned a certificate or degree. She is distinguished by three years of hard and inspired work to earn an associate of general studies, by a job prospect in her career of choice, and maybe a little bit by her age - she is 75.
Lillian lived in Coos Bay where she raised two children and started a ceramic and porcelain doll studio. Her husband died in 1972. She continued to run the studio, took art classes at Southwestern Oregon Community College, and moved to Eugene in 1988. She reopened her studio and retired after 42 years in business.
She is a woman who stays active. “I don't watch TV and I'm not a couch potato,” she says.
After retiring, Lillian came to Lane to learn about computers, but the class she wanted was full. Friendly staff advised her to visit the Women's Center. She did, and from there she found her way to a new calling, teaching children how to read. She enrolled in April 2002, transferring her 28 credits from SWOCC.
“If children don't learn to read well, they can't do well in school or in their futures,” says Lillian. “If they really get into it, they can become armchair travelers, and they can learn about anything.”
“Lane is phenomenal,” says Lillian. “There's just no other word for it. If you have any problem, any question, don't know what direction to go, the information and the people are there to help you.”
Cooperative Education coordinator Merrill Watrous will guide Lillian in a practicum this fall as an instructional assistant at Adams Elementary. She says Lillian was willing to volunteer if she couldn't find work. “I love her zest and her desire to make a difference,” says Merrill.
Lillian will walk in graduation, and then hold a celebration bash for her friends and neighbors at Olive Plaza in Eugene where she has lived for 16 years. Then, in the fall, she will begin her teaching career.
“This is it,” says Lillian.
